Chapter Text
Betty smiled playfully as she sat on Daniel’s lap. His surprised look spurred her on to continue teasing him, stroking his hair back and leaning closer, as she whispered, “That’s true, Daniel. I’ve always loved you! You’re so sexy! And that smile is so dazzling, I just want to be a bagel between your teeth! Not to mention those gorgeous, smoldering blue eyes of yours! And that sexy voice? How could I ever resist you?”
She kissed his cheek softly, then grinned and patted his cheek, “Um, sorry, Daniel. Actually, excuse me, boss. But THERE is the man I DO love!”
She jumped off his lap and pointed outside his office, where the dufus accountant was just now showing up, “Betty! Are you okay?”
What a loser, Daniel thought to himself! He was JUST coming here? Betty could have died! I mean, okay, maybe it was Daniel’s fault that Betty had been put in danger in the first place, but still…shouldn’t her supposed boyfriend be the one who came to her rescue? The guy was likely too busy playing house with his damn baby mama as usual to even know Betty was in danger!
Daniel watched the moron plant one on Betty. He sighed, thinking that if Betty were HIS girlfriend, and he just found out she almost been killed by a crazy, jealous woman in a fire, he would sure as hell not just give her some weak-ass kiss like that! He would grab her in his arms and kiss her so passionately, and take her somewhere to rip her clothes off to check her over head to toe to make sure there wasn’t a single place on her body that had been injured!
He smiled to himself, picturing his little “hero moment” a little differently. When he got to bust down his own door, he had been scared to death that Betty might be passed out or worse. But of course, as usual, she had things in hand by the time he got there. Still, she had looked a bit frazzled and relieved to see him there.
He watched as the dork stood there, listening to Betty tell him what had happened with Renee, then got another call, (no doubt from his needy baby mama) and left poor Betty standing there, still obviously in shock from what she had been through.
Daniel didn’t wait. He was done waiting on the sidelines while this STUPID, yeah he said it, guy hurt his best friend. He peeked his head around the corner and smiled, “Let me guess, Charlie is craving a sauerkraut and peanut butter sandwich or some such ‘emergency’ and that somehow supercedes almost getting burned alive?”
Betty didn’t even try her usual defense of Henry’s behavior of putting the ‘other woman’s’ needs above hers this time. She nodded, her eyes filled with tears and ran into Daniel’s arms, “YES! Of course! She always comes before me! Daniel, I’m so TIRED of this!”
He held her tightly and patted her back, “Well, of course you are, Betty! This is total bull shit! If he had ANY idea the actual HELL you’ve been through tonight! Literally fighting for your life with a crazy woman like Renee! Sh….it’s okay, Betty. You’re safe now!. I’m so, so sorry she put you through that, honey! You didn’t deserve what you went through. I tried to tell her, you were just doing your job!”
After several minutes of finally letting out her fears and crying into Daniel’s shirt, she looked up though tear-stained eyes and pushed away from his chest slightly, “I did see her point, though, Daniel. I felt like I saw Renee’s side of things, because I have felt like pushing Charlie onto the train tracks and I DID leave her on the subway train that time! She was scared and I just…let her go! Because I was so jealous!
And to be honest…there were some times I probably COULD have left you sooner than I did, but…I just didn’t WANT to go deal with Charlie and listen to Henry go on about his fears about being a good dad! I had more fun…working with you! But we weren’t really even working some of those times. We were just…hanging out!”
He nodded and shrugged, “Well, yeah. Me, too, Betty. I mean, sure, we had to stop and take lunch and dinner breaks a few times! I mean, we had to eat, right? Plus, we get along so well, we sort of…crack each other up a lot. There’s nothing wrong with…getting along with your … your…colleague and..friend, though! I TRIED to get through to her that you already had…um HAVE a boyfriend, even though he’s an idiot and got some other girl pregnant, but…he’s your ‘first real love’ or whatever, so…it is what it is and you have him, and you don’t…see me…like that!
But she wouldn’t listen! She said you…were in love with me! Then, I had some really, really weird dreams lately about us, Betty! I gotta tell you, you were like…coming onto me and it really…sort of freaked me out! You…kissed me! And sat on top of me and…that’s why I had to leave that meeting and run into the men’s room and…um…well, you got me all…or not YOU, but you in my dream…got me all…you know, excited!
I didn’t know how to…handle it!” He backed up, handing her tissues from a box that was on the shelf behind him, then stopped and faced her, taking hold of her shoulders and looking her straight in the (bloodshot, tear-stained) eyes, as he removed her glasses gently and put them on the shelf.
“ARE you? In love with me, Betty? You teased me about it just now, But I mean…you DID you know, walk through fire for me! Why did you do that? You knew she was crazy! And dangerous! And yet, you tried to stop her from hurting…me! Are you nuts? You crazy girl! You shouldn’t have done that! I was going crazy myself, on the way over to my place! I didn’t want to think about you getting hurt! I was…so scared something bad might happen to you! You’re my girl, Betty! How could I possibly live… without YOU?”
“I could NEVER live…without YOU, Betty!” He stepped closer and held her face in his hands, really looking at her soft, swollen lips and smiled as he pulled her into his body, feeling her warmth, and tasting those lovely lips he had been dreaming about for so long he couldn’t remember. Pretty much ever since she stood in the street and yelled at him, wearing that ridiculous get up he had stupidly made her wear at the end of the first week.
He had never forgotten how sexy she looked in that crazy biker/hooker outfit. He often had fantasies about taking her home afterwards and telling her how sorry he was for being such a jerk that week, and SHOWING her how sorry he really, truly was by making love to her. Now…it just felt...right to show her who he preferred spending his time with. Not Renee. Betty. She was “Daniel’s girl”.
She was the one who cared enough about him to risk getting killed! She had to have some pretty strong feelings for him, too, to do that, right? If her kiss was any indication…maybe Renee wasn’t quite so crazy after all!
Finally, they both came up for air, and Daniel grinned at her, “Well, that answers that question!”
“What question?”
He smiled, brushing back her hair, and handing her back her glasses, “Sorry, Betty, but I just saw how you kissed numbnuts earlier! And it sure as hell didn’t seem like your lips were…THAT into it! Not like you just kissed ME! Now THAT was a kiss!” he grinned and put his hands on his lips.
“YOU kissed ME!” She was clearly confused and flustered.
He nodded, moving closer, “Yeah, I did. I was still wondering WHY you showed up to my place in the first place? Knowing Renee might be there. Probably WOULD be there! You came to save me, didn’t you, Betty?”
She blinked, “Well, of course! I came there to save you! You came to save ME, too!”
“Even though you didn’t really NEED saving!” he pointed out, brushing her hair away from her face and kissed her cheek softly.
“Well, yes, but you didn’t know that! You busted down your door! That was really…hot!”
He laughed, “Hot? Probably not the best time to call me that, honey! Aw, Betty! Can we…get a hotel and…maybe ‘chill out’?”
Her eyes widened, “WHAT? WHY? DANIEL! What are you…talking about?”
He sighed, shaking his head, “I’m exhausted! And so are you! And if you go home to Queens right now, your family is going to make you relive this whole nightmare. I don’t have a home to go home TO, thanks to Renee! I have to sleep somewhere and get a shower and you know, eat, start over! I don’t want to go to my parent’s house. So…there are these great things called hotels when you’re ‘between places’. I just thought…”
She went into ‘assistant mode’ and took out her notepad, “Oh, of course! Sorry, Daniel! I’ll get you a room right away!”
He shook his head, putting his hands on her notes, and threw them on the floor, stepping closer, “No, Betty. You’re not understanding here. I don’t mean just ME. I want you…to stay WITH me!”
“WHY? Me? Daniel, what are you talking about?”
“Oh my god, Betty! Don’t you get it? I almost LOST you tonight! I want to…WHY are you wasting your time with HIM? He’s only going to break your heart, AGAIN!
And I know I was wasting my time with that crazy woman because…I was bored! I’m tired of models and girls who TRY to look pretty and none of them holds a candle to you…sorry! Betty, but listen to me, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! I see you, every day, all day and I can tell, you just need to learn how to dress better, that’s all!
But sweetie, you do know, you’re not going to be stuck wearing braces your whole life and maybe you need contacts once in a while, so we can see your pretty eyes, and you’re getting better with your hair and makeup. It’s like that silly makeover movie you made me watch! Where the girl comes down stairs and she’s suddenly hot…um really pretty! That’s you!
How do you not see how gorgeous you really are? You should have come to me instead of your sister that time when Wilhelmina made fun of you, that’s all. Come on!”
He took her to The Closet and handed her a red wrap dress, “Here! Go try this on, please! I’m going to need a few outfits myself, since I’m apparently homeless! Maybe look in this section, I don’t get why Christina hasn’t made you try some of these on before! She knows your size! And she’s a great seamstress, she could easily alter the ones too tight in the…bust for you!”
“She offered. I just figured…why bother?” Betty called out, as Daniel looked through the men’s section to take a few suits to replace his now ruined clothing at home.
He put on a pair of black pants and a blue shirt, then texted his driver to come take his new wardrobe while he made the arrangements for his hotel stay, explaining that he had a fire and would be temporarily staying at The Plaza while he had his loft repaired. Thankfully, his mother often stayed there and had a suite reserved for ‘emergencies’ such as this.
Betty stepped out, and she had tied her hair up in a loose bun, her glasses were off, but Daniel had to catch his breath as he saw how insanely beautiful she was. Her breasts were on display far more (meaning a little) than she ever did at work and her tiny waist was emphasized by the wrap around red silk dress.
He held up a pair of nude Prada pumps and grinned, “Prince charming here to see if Cinderella’s tiny feet fit these slippers, miss!” he wagged his eyebrows, and took hold of her left foot, kneeling beside her, to strap on the shoe.
As he held onto her calf, he could feel how much she was shaking. He was having a similar reaction to seeing her like this, so pretty and although in his head, he knew how gorgeous Betty really was, actually witnessing her little makeover did something to his libido as a man and he knew…he could no longer stand by and let her wear what she had been wearing and continue to hide her natural beauty!
He was around her all day (and often night). He saw how she really looked. So many women did all they possibly could to look half as pretty as Betty was naturally. Yet she insisted on HIDING behind clothes that were too big for her and covered up her natural assets and not just taking off her glasses or wearing ones that showed off her pretty face!
It was insane, especially for a smart girl who worked in a fashion magazine! He could personally yell at Marc or Amanda for not pulling Betty aside and giving her a REAL makeover before in all this time but the buck stopped with him, after all. He was…her boss! And he knew…he was going to have to do something about the way she was suddenly making his heart beat faster. What was it Sofia had said, something about his hands being sweaty? Check!
He looked up at her and patted her foot, then repeated his actions of playing shoe salesman with the other shoe and smiled, standing up and facing her. Touching her leg made his insides feel like so much Jello! He could see how his touch had affected her, too. She was watching him intently.
“Daniel?” she asked expectantly, “Does this feel…weird?”
“Weird good or bad?”
“Good! But just…different!” she whispered, “Like our lives are about to change in a big way.”
“Uh huh. Is that…okay?” he whispered, touching her lips with his finger, as he moved closer to them again.
“Oh yeah!” she nodded, pulling him up to kiss him passionately, running her hands through his hair, then wrapping her arms around his back, as she continued to cover him with kisses on his neck and face, as he bent down to meet her passion with his own, then deepened the kiss to her lips, their tongues dueling for dominance and both of them hungrily holding onto each other.
When they finally came up for air, he blew out a breath, nodding, “DAMN! That was…insane, Betty!”
“Uh huh! It was…just...WOW!” she, too, was at a loss for words. She pulled down the dress he had begun to tug at in their mini makeout session.
He cleared his throat, trying to calm himself down, “Um…so did you see a few other dresses that might fit? Grab them and give them to Tony. We’ve got a room at The Plaza that my mom stays at sometimes under her fake name.”
“Any relation to Mr. Sickington?” she teased.
He laughed, shaking his head, “Nope. It’s Brandy Shalube. She used to use that one when she was going through a relapse after Fey first “had her accident”, remember?”
“Of course! How could I forget! I had this weird dream that your mom was drinking a martini in my bedroom and Henry was there with some girl and said, “Sorry it didn’t work out, but…Claire Meade’s going to kill you anyway like she did Fey! It really freaked me out! It was before I really knew your mother.”
Daniel laughed outright, and held her hand holding her out to get a better look at her, shaking his head, “See, Betty? What did I say? I told you you were gorgeous! Just let ME dress you from now on, okay?”
She blushed looking down at herself, “You um…really think so?” She wobbled a bit on the heels, but he caught her and nodded, brushing her hair aside, “Oh yeah, absolutely gorgeous! Trust me!”
“I do.” she answered simply, seeming to hold her breath as his eyes washed over her appreciatively.
He took a breath and held her chin then took hold of her face, before he leaned down, “Then hear me when I tell you this, Betty. You need to trust me when I tell you that I will NEVER let you get hurt again, okay? I’m going to be the one who takes care of YOU for a change from now on!”
She bit her bottom lip, “That’s really sweet, Daniel. Thank you! I…could use someone to take care of me! I’ve sort of stepped up and always been the one doing the taking care of…well, everybody, ever since…”
“Your mom died? Yeah, it’s true! But I think…we can find a better job than that for you…taking care of ME! You’re way too smart for that! I mean, you’re really super great at your job but…it’s too easy for you! You need more of a challenge. Like…maybe being a junior editor…In Features? That’s not my department. So…you know, I sort of wouldn’t be your boss anymore! At least, not your direct supervisor.”
She looked upset, “But…I’d miss…seeing you all the time!”
He grinned, “Only during the day, at work. Although, I’m sure we could meet…for ‘lunch’, too! But you know, we could….look for a new place. I know you want to get your own place, here in the city. And I need a new place, maybe. Once it’s fixed, I can put my loft on the market and…get a bigger place. One that has room for…both of us.”
“Us?”
He grinned, “Yeah, Betty. US!”
“Is there an…us?”
“Hell, yeah!” he grinned as they entered the waiting town car and slid inside the back seat.
“I’m going to FIRE that witch, Wilhelmina…wow, is it just me or is EVERYTHING reminding me of the…fire?” he whiperered.
“Wait, were you really serious? You want to…give me a raise and…live with me? Daniel, you can’t be serious! Just because…you kissed me? You were upset! We’ve been through a traumatic event. You’re just not thinking straight. They say don’t make any huge life-changing decisions when you’ve been through a huge trauma!”
He sighed, “Well, that’s just…dumb! I almost lost you and it made me realize I never WANT to lose you and you realized that you’re never going to be first with dumbdumb, so you kind of…decided you like spending time with me more than him anyway, right? We both agree, it’s way more fun to spend time together than apart. And that kiss…was just the beginning.”
“The beginning?”
“Of US, Betty! We are a GREAT team, you and me. It should always be you and me!”
He kissed her again, but this time, she pushed him away slightly, holding onto his chest, “You’re not thinking straight, Daniel! You’re upset!”
He raised his eyebrows and glanced down to show how he was really feeling, as he shook his head, “Not really. Not right now. I’m feeling…turned on, Betty! Are you telling me you don’t want me, too? Because I don’t believe you! You’re adorable when you’re blushing like this!”